Ashton Carter in Delhi: India, US agree in principle on military logistic agreement

New Delhi: India and the United States have agreed, in principle, to conclude a 'Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement' on mutual military logistic support.

It, however, does not mean that troops of one country will be stationed in the other country, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said at a joint press conference with US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter on Tuesday.

Our countries and militaries are closer than ever before - brought together by shared values and mutual interests pic.twitter.com/GfFTM8Zu4B

Parrikar said the growing interaction between armed forces of the two countries is a "significant aspect of bilateral relationship", pointing out that India has more joint exercises with the US than any other country in the world.

"In this context, Secretary Carter and I agreed, in principle, to conclude a Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in the coming months," Parrikar said.

Asked if it will mean the presence of US troops in India, Carter said: "No one is talking about the US troops on Indian soil." He added that the details of the logistic support will be decided by the two governments.

#SecDef: US-India relationship is destined to be 1 of the defining partnerships of 21st century & that destiny is rapidly becoming a reality